Brian K. Hillard, who has our very own James Dunn’s dream job, is employed by the effects house that Robert Kurtzman, Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger built . Their list of credits is more than I’d like to type, but they are the company responsible for glorious cable TV carnage of The Walking Dead.
“Greg (Nicotero) and Howard (Berger) are great because they actually don’t mind that we do these outside projects,” says Hillard, “It helps keep our minds fresh and creative energy flowing for when we are at the shop, creating the effects for The Walking Dead, or any other show we may have in!”
Hillard’s proud achievements include The Pacific, No Country for Old Men, Predators, The Departed, and to the upcoming films The Hobbit, Django Unchained, and OZ: The Great and Powerful.
He speaks highly of his time working for Nicotero and Berger, “I was able to play the Bloated Well Walker in season 2 of The Walking Dead — a very cool experience.”
And now Hillard is gearing up to produce his own undead vision, and he’s asking for friends and fans alike to help produce the pilot via Kickstarter.
Beyond DOOMSDAY: The Chronicles of Captain Z is the story of Ex-Army Captain L. Brandon Scott, better known by the moniker he has given his alter-ego self, Captain Z, is a Steve Irwin meets Bear Grylls-type for the UNDEAD. His mission, to teach others how to plan, prepare for, survive in, and become warriors against the UNDEAD insurgency that now infest our Post Apocalyptic planet.
There has been talk that the cause of the infestation was some kind of hyperterrestrial contagion; an attack upon our planet by some type of unseen alien life form. But again, everything is speculation and guess work; and at this point, is it even relevant that the true cause of the epidemic be found?
The fact remains; it isn’t just the UNDEAD that we have to worry about as we learn to survive on our world Beyond DOOMSDAY . . . there are things much more sinister and infinitely more malevolent that lurk in the shadows . . .
David B. Johnson, Amy Johnston, and Dian Bachar star in this pilot episode of Beyond DOOMSDAY: The Chronicles of Captain Z.
What makes Beyond DOOMSDAY: The Chronicles of Captain Z stand apart from the rest?
A compelling story being told through richly defined characters.
Like Joseph Campbellʼs “Hero with a Thousand Faces”, great literature, and great films are steeped in classical world mythology – the telling of the Heroʼs Journey. And as it has been said many times prior to it being said here, the journey is indeed, the destination.
It is the concept of the journey that gives the main character of our story, “Beyond DOOMSDAY: The Chronicles of Captain Z”, Captain Z, his strength and will to press on! To get back in the fight!
Like Odysseus, Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, and Rick Grimes, Captain Z must overcome any and all obstacles. And not unlike Aliceʼs journeys through the rabbit hole, falling headfirst into his own Wonderland, our hero must navigate through a strange new world, hoping, at first, just to come out on the other side in one piece. But like the cinematic heroes who came before him, Captain Z will be transformed, and forever changed – and our audience will come along for the ride! Having a front row seat to see just where this journey will take OUR HERO, Ex-Army Special Forces Captain Brandon Scott!
“Beyond DOOMSDAY” has its base in Horror/Thriller, but at its core, it is Science Fiction at its best! Think of it as a mash-up of John Carpenter’s The Thing, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer tv series, the Bear Grylls’ show Man VS. Wild, the buddy survivalist show Dual Survivor, mixed with a well told Ghost story, set in a world not unlike those Post Apoctalyptic worlds of Battle LA, and The Terminator. And oh yeah, there are Undead – we don’t call ours zombies . . .
We are really trying to set ourselves apart from the sometimes strict, and pre-determined rules of what a “zombie” show should be. We love The Walking Dead, have been fans since the comic came out years ago; and now we want to do right by the highly successful television show (for which we get to create the effects at KNB – dream come true) and do our own thing with “Beyond DOOMSDAY”. We hold the creators (production team) of The Walking Dead in the highest regard, and to that end – we want to show respect by imagining a world that is nothing like what has been created by The Walking Dead producers and writing team.
The Kickstarter campaign launch of Beyond DOOMSDAY: The Chronicles of Captain Z, as created and directed by Brian K. Hillard, will launch the morning of 07 September 2012.
